Listeners who like to plunge straight into a story would do well to skip the lengthy preamble. Here, Balzac the virtuoso satirist depicts the levels of Parisian society as a version of the Inferno of Dante - but perhaps keeps the reader waiting too long for the first act of his operatic extravaganza.
Our beautiful, androgynous hero, Henri de Marsay, is one of the bastard offspring of a depraved Regency milord and himself practises the cynical arts of the libertine. His quarry is the exotic Paquita Valdes, she of the golden eyes.
But there is a mysterious third person in this liaison...
The shocking truth of their interrelationships marks this out at once as one of those French novels that Lady Bracknell would instantly ban from the house. (Summary by Martin Geeson)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/girl_with_golden_eyes_mg_librivox/girlwithgoldeneyes_01_balzac_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://ia600307.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/4/items/olcovers643/olcovers643-L.zip&file=6436030-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":3750,"book_guid":"bbbec5ece5d1364a33b1024dac9c94d1","book_rating":2,"book_votes":2,"score":0.0833,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"romance|published 1800 -1900","language_names":"English"},{"id":64014,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Tom Sawyer, De Lotgevallen van","book_author":"Twain, Mark","book_description":"Uit de inleiding van de schrijver bij de originele Engelstalige uitgave (helaas niet in deze vertaling opgenomen): \"Ofschoon mijn boek hoofdzakelijk bedoeld is voor het plezier van jongens en meisjes, hoop ik dat het daarom niet door de ouderen uit de weg wordt gegaan. Het was namelijk gedeeltelijk mijn bedoeling om volwassenen op een plezierige manier er aan te herinneren hoe zij zelf waren en dachten en spraken en welke vreemde zaken zij soms deden.\" Tom Sawyer is de verpersoonlijking van de Amerikaanse jeugd in de negentiende eeuw. Hij leeft in het fictieve St Petersburg, samen met zijn tante Polly, zijn halfbroer Syd, zijn grote liefde Becky Thatcher en zijn vriend Huckleberry Finn. Dit is de eerste roman ooit, die op een typemachine werd geschreven.
Romeo and Juliet is perhaps the most famous of Shakespeare\u2019s plays and is thought to be the most famous love story in Western history. It concerns the fate of two very young lovers who would do anything to be together.
The Montagues and the Capulets of Verona, Italy, are in the midst of a long-standing feud when Romeo Montague drops in on a masquerade party at the Capulets\u2019. While there he meets and woos the daughter of the house, Juliet. She likewise returns his passion, and their secret meeting later that night on her bedroom balcony begins a series of tragic events that no one could have foretold.
(Summary by Becky Crackel)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/romeo_and_juliet_librivox/Romeo_and_Juliet_Act_1_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://www.digitalbook.io/covers/Romeo_and_Juliet.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":243,"book_guid":"bc784e904882b3c9c58916b36edbb29b","book_rating":4,"book_votes":35,"score":0.0667,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"plays|romance","language_names":"English"},{"id":54619,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea","book_author":"Verne, Jules","book_description":"Captain Nemo, The Nautilus, and the mysterious depths of the ocean. Unforgettable. Come join an adventure that will roam among coral and pearls, sharks and giant squid, with wonders of biology and engineering that will thrust us from the Antarctic to Atlantis. Whether voyaging a yarn of the glorious unknown, a tale of the darkness that grips the heart of men, or a reinterpretation of Homer\u2019s Odyssey, we\u2019ll all enjoy the fantastic trip. Seasickness optional. (Summary by Marlo Dianne)
A German version is available: Zwanzigtausend Meilen unter\u2019m Meer","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/20000_leagues_under_the_seas_librivox/20000leaguesundertheseas_1-01_verne_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12786513-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":665,"book_guid":"e5cd79229bcba4b45b96450a9d206fff","book_rating":3,"book_votes":12,"score":0.0667,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"action & adventure fiction|fantasy","language_names":"English"},{"id":60012,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Six Creepy Stories by Edgar Allan Poe","book_author":"Poe, Edgar Allan","book_description":"Edgar Allan Poe has the ability to manipulate language so well that he could engage my imagination and get me terrified even though little was 'done' in the sense of horrible actions described. My imagination, under the power of his creepy words, conjured the atmosphere and did the rest by itself. In this recording I've chosen some of his stories that succeed so well in leaving lingering hair raising memories with me: The Telltale Heart; The Masque of the Red Death; The Black Cat; The Raven, the Casque of Amontillado and Berenice. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I did reading them. (Summary by phil chenevert) ","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/sixcreepytales_pc_librivox/sixcreepystoriesbypoe_1_poe_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":7465,"book_guid":"4db669b31749098ffdf8f4a5e3edd524","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0606,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"horror & supernatural fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":65141,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Chemistry, Properties and Tests of Precious Stones","book_author":"Mastin, John","book_description":"This is a good basic introduction to gemstones and their analysis. Admittedly a lot of the scientific tests have been superseded, but the basic properties never change. The first part of the book concentrates on physical properties of most common gems, then outlines the cutting process and ends with several chapters on each of the gemstone families. A useful little book if you are interested in gems. - Summary by Kevin Green","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/precious_stones_1701_librivox/preciousstones_00_mastin_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/11121444-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":11525,"book_guid":"c1a255516bf0f6fdb1f0f0e8e8924f29","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0513,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"chemistry|earth sciences","language_names":"English"},{"id":56844,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Black Beauty (version 2)","book_author":"Sewell, Anna","book_description":"Black Beauty is a fictional autobiographical memoir told by a horse, who recounts many tales, both of cruelty and kindness. The title page of the first edition states that it was \"Translated from the Original Equine by Anna Sewell.\" It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she was confined to her house as an invalid. After its publication in 1877, Sewell lived just long enough to see her first and only novel become an immediate bestseller, as well as it encouraging the better treatment of many cruelly-treated animals.
Although initially intended for people who work with horses, it soon became a children's classic. While outwardly teaching animal welfare, it also contains allegorical lessons about how to treat people with kindness, sympathy and respect. The story is narrated in the first person and each short chapter relates an incident in Black Beauty's life, with Sewell's detailed observations and extensive descriptions of horse behaviour lending the novel a good deal of verisimilitude.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Cori Samuel, with help.
Librivox\u2019s Short Poetry Collection 001: a collection of 29 public-domain poems.
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/short_poetry_001_librivox/abou_hunt_py_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":248,"book_guid":"146b984f837ac9b81850974c1d56258c","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0267,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"poetry","language_names":"English"},{"id":54459,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Treasure Island","book_author":"Stevenson, Robert Louis","book_description":"Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of \"buccaneers and buried gold.\" Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality\u2014as seen in Long John Silver\u2014unusual for children's literature then and now. (Summary from wikipedia.org)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/treasureisland_librivox/treasure_island_01-02_stevenson_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/8229197-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":449,"book_guid":"58900720a21e7cb91b08c029dc1c3908","book_rating":3,"book_votes":4,"score":0.0256,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"action & adventure fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":60000,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Lion and the Unicorn","book_author":"Davis, Richard Harding","book_description":"What if figures of animals had lives of their own? If the figures of a lion and a unicorn at the shop across the street could talk, what would they say about the little things in life that they see every day on the streets of London? This short story describes the love story of Philip Caroll and Helen Cabot, as witnessed by these two figures.. (Summary by Carolin)","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/lionunicorn_1301_librivox/lionunicorn_1_davis_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://ia800702.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/7/items/olcovers275/olcovers275-L.zip&file=2751353-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":7450,"book_guid":"d24eed688d913d39e50f5a33ce6842d9","book_rating":5,"book_votes":16,"score":0.0254,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"general fiction|romance","language_names":"English"},{"id":66513,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Coffee Break Collection 16 - Crime","book_author":"Various","book_description":"This is the sixteenth collection of our \"coffee break\" series, involving public domain works that are between about 3 and 15 minutes in length. These are great for study breaks, commutes, workouts, or any time you'd like to hear a whole story and only have a few minutes to devote to listening. The theme for this collection is \"Crime\", where crime or criminals are significant. Librivox readers have chosen a combination of social commentaries, newspaper reports of true crimes and criminals, letters, fictional accounts of the life of the criminal and short 'whodunnit' mysteries. - Summary by Lynne Thompson","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/cb16_crime_1806_librivox/cb016_afterthecrimep1_pg_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":12903,"book_guid":"9d9794e5d23b084052a9649dfa62c213","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.023,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"crime & mystery fiction|anthologies","language_names":"English"},{"id":55691,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus (1818)","book_author":"Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft","book_description":"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by the British author Mary Shelley. Shelley wrote the novel when she was 18 years old. The first edition was published anonymously in London in 1818, and this audiobook is read from that text. Shelley's name appeared on the revised third edition, published in 1831. The title of the novel refers to the scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who learns how to create life and creates a being in the likeness of man, but larger than average and more powerful. In modern popular culture, people have tended to refer to the Creature as \"Frankenstein\" (especially in films since 1931), despite this being the name of the scientist, and the creature being unnamed in the book itself. Frankenstein is a novel infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement. It was also a warning against the \"over-reaching\" of modern man and the Industrial Revolution, alluded to in the novel's subtitle, The Modern Prometheus. The story has had an influence across literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories and films. It is arguably considered the first fully-realised science fiction novel and raises many issues still relevant to today's society. (Summary from wikipedia.org, adapted by Cori Samuel.)","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/frankenstein_cs_librivox/frankenstein_01_shelley_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://www.digitalbook.io/covers/Frankenstein_or_The_Modern_Prometheus.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":2030,"book_guid":"6d8d9a7c37c8bfb524ff4c3cade089e7","book_rating":5,"book_votes":6,"score":0.0205,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"horror & supernatural fiction|literary fiction|horror","language_names":"English"},{"id":54656,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"War and Peace, Book 01: 1805","book_author":"Tolstoy, Leo","book_description":"War and Peace (Russian: \u0412\u043e\u0439\u043d\u0430 \u0438 \u043c\u0438\u0440, Voyna i mir; in original orthography: \u0412\u043e\u0439\u043d\u0430 \u0438 \u043c\u0438\u0440\u044a, Voyna i mir\") is an epic novel by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russki Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy's two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world's greatest novels.
War and Peace offered a new kind of fiction, with a great many characters caught up in a plot that covered nothing less than the grand subjects indicated by the title, combined with the equally large topics of youth, age and marriage. While today it is considered a novel, it broke so many novelistic conventions of its day that many critics of Tolstoy's time did not consider it as such. Tolstoy himself considered Anna Karenina (1878) to be his first attempt at a novel in the European sense. (Summary by Wikipedia)
Note: The novel is split in 15 books. This is the recording of book one, which covers the events in the year 1805.","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/war_and_peace_01_librivox/war_and_peace_01_01_tolstoy_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://www.digitalbook.io/covers/War_and_Peace.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":722,"book_guid":"626dee2700c38402befbf21db31a53de","book_rating":4,"book_votes":5,"score":0.0202,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"historical fiction|history","language_names":"English"},{"id":61553,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Wolf-Leader","book_author":"Dumas, Alexandre","book_description":"
Part local legend of a dark and dangerous Wolf-Leader, part childhood memories of his home near Villers-Cotterets, in Aisne, Dumas here penned a chilling supernaturlal encounter between man and the devil. Our hero, Thibault the shoemaker, is beaten on the orders of the Lord of Vez for hunting in the lord's forest. With Thibault's resentment at his treatment by the world at its height, the devil sees his chance and, in the guise of a wolf, proposes a deal which Thibault accepts; the ever available trade of one's soul for evil power. With a pack of demon possessed wolves at his command, Thibault begins to explore his new power tentatively, hesitant to do evil, but unable to help himself, the momentum of the tale grown in surprising and horrifying ways until the unexpected climax. (Summary by TimoleonWash)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/wolfleader_1503_librivox/wolfleader_00_dumas_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/9715725-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":9233,"book_guid":"ee41a00fbfbd9b0448750b84ca08c740","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0202,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"horror & supernatural fiction|literary fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":65965,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Lord Dolphin","book_author":"Cheever, Harriet Anna","book_description":"\"Now who ever heard of a fish's setting up and telling his own story...I am not a bit proud but just a good natured chap that has decided to spin a sea yard for the amusement, and I hope the instruction, it may be of young Folks, being perfectly willing that older Folks should hear it too, if they like.\" Summary by Lord Dolphin","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/lorddolphin_1709_librivox/lorddolphin_01_cheever_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":12261,"book_guid":"c2ffcf37261e3c7d3da3afb66ec3f521","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0185,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"animals & nature","language_names":"English"},{"id":56696,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Art of Controversy (or: The Art of Being Right)","book_author":"Schopenhauer, Arthur","book_description":"The Art of Controversy (or The Art of Being Right) (Die Kunst, Recht zu Behalten) is a short treatise written in 1831 by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer in which he presents thirty-eight methods of gaining an unfair advantage in a debate and thereby being right even if you are wrong. Schopenhauer champions the virtue of dialectical argument, in his view wrongly neglected by philosophers in favour of logic, and goes on to discuss the distinction between our conscious intellectual powers and our will. The text is a favourite of debaters including the philosophers AC Grayling and Mary Warnock, and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson. (Summary by Carl Manchester)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/controversy_1011_librivox/controversy_01_schopenhauer_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":3384,"book_guid":"a068060352bd7012e72e5c098f6ae59e","book_rating":5,"book_votes":4,"score":0.0169,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"philosophy|self-help","language_names":"English"},{"id":63785,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"F\u00e1bulas de Esopo, Vol. 1","book_author":"Aesop","book_description":"The classic Aesop's Fables have been translated to every language for hundreds of years. The fables, told in the form of allegories, give us universal, worldly advice. The use of animals and ancient gods makes the lessons unbiased and impartial. Short and smart, these fables entertain and enrich our lives. In this volume you will find 30 of the 300 fables we offer you in Spanish.","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/fabulas_esopo_01_librivox/fabula_01_001_esopo_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":73,"book_guid":"90679d420e2a09352ce06dd9f34bc6c1","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0159,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"children's fiction|animals","language_names":"Spanish"},{"id":63786,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"F\u00e1bulas de Esopo, Vol. 2","book_author":"Aesop","book_description":"The classic Aesop's Fables have been translated to every language for hundreds of years. The fables, told in the form of allegories, give us universal, worldly advice. The use of animals and ancient gods makes the lessons unbiased and impartial. Short and smart, these fables entertain and enrich our lives. In this volume you will find 30 of the 300 fables we offer you in Spanish.
Las cl\u00e1sicas F\u00e1bulas de Esopo han sido traducidas a todos idiomas por cientos de a\u00f1os. Las f\u00e1bulas, en forma de alegorias, nos dan consejos en una forma universal. El uso de animales y dioses antiguos hace que las lecciones sean imparcial. Cortitas y sabias, cada f\u00e1bula nos entretiene y enriquese nuestras vidas. En este vol\u00famen encontrar\u00e1 30 de las 300 f\u00e1bulas que le ofrecemos en Espa\u00f1ol. (Summary by Fedra)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/fabulas_esopo_02_librivox/fabula_02_031_esopo_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":89,"book_guid":"937ee4d698a58d5626534cc44e167ed0","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0159,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"children's fiction|myths, legends & fairy tales|animals","language_names":"Spanish"},{"id":63790,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"F\u00e1bulas de Esopo, Vol. 4","book_author":"Aesop","book_description":"The classic Aesop's Fables have been translated to every language for hundreds of years. The fables, told in the form of allegories, give us universal, worldly advice. The use of animals and ancient gods makes the lessons unbiased and impartial. Short and smart, these fables entertain and enrich our lives. In this volume you will find 30 of the 300 fables we offer you in Spanish.
Las cl\u00e1sicas F\u00e1bulas de Esopo han sido traducidas a todos idiomas por cientos de a\u00f1os. Las f\u00e1bulas, en forma de alegorias, nos dan consejos en una forma universal. El uso de animales y dioses antiguos hace que las lecciones sean imparcial. Cortitas y sabias, cada f\u00e1bula nos entretiene y enriquese nuestras vidas. En este vol\u00famen encontrar\u00e1 30 de las 300 f\u00e1bulas que le ofrecemos en Espa\u00f1ol. (Summary by Fedra)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/fabulas_esopo_04_librivox/fabula_04_091_esopo_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":904,"book_guid":"cf50fc44f84ea92ae58a3168168808e","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0159,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"children's fiction|myths, legends & fairy tales|animals","language_names":"Spanish"},{"id":64412,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"F\u00e1bulas, volume 3","book_author":"Aesop","book_description":"Esopo \u00e9 um lend\u00e1rio autor grego, que teria vivido na Antig\u00fcidade, ao qual se atribui a paternidade da f\u00e1bula como g\u00eanero liter\u00e1rio. As F\u00e1bulas de Esopo serviram como base para recria\u00e7\u00f5es de outros escritores ao longo dos s\u00e9culos, como Fedro e La Fontaine. Fabulista grego do s\u00e9culo VI a.C.. O local de seu nascimento \u00e9 incerto \u2014 Tr\u00e1cia, Fr\u00edgia, Eti\u00f3pia, Samos, e Sardes todas clamam a honra. Eventualmente morreu em Delfos. Na verdade, todos os dados referentes a Esopo s\u00e3o discut\u00edveis e trata-se mais de um personagem lend\u00e1rio do que hist\u00f3rico. A \u00fanica certeza \u00e9 que as f\u00e1bulas a ele atribu\u00eddas foram reunidas pela primeira vez por Dem\u00e9trio de Falero, em 325 a.C..
Esopo teria sido um escravo, que foi libertado pelo seu dono, que ficou encantado com suas f\u00e1bulas. Ao que tudo indica, viajou pelo mundo antigo e conheceu o Egito, a Babil\u00f3nia e o Oriente. Concretamente, n\u00e3o h\u00e1 ind\u00edcios seguros de que tenha escrito qualquer coisa.
Entretanto, foi-lhe atribu\u00eddo um conjunto de pequenas hist\u00f3rias, de car\u00e1cter moral e aleg\u00f3rico, cujos pap\u00e9is principais eram desenvolvidos por animais. Na Atenas do s\u00e9culo V a.C., essas f\u00e1bulas eram conhecidas e apreciadas.
As f\u00e1bulas que lhe s\u00e3o atribu\u00eddas sugerem normas de conduta que s\u00e3o exemplificadas pela a\u00e7\u00e3o dos animais (mas tamb\u00e9m de homens, deuses e mesmo coisas inanimadas). Esopo partia da cultura popular para compor seus escritos. Os seus animais falam, cometem erros, s\u00e3o s\u00e1bios ou tolos, maus ou bons, exatamente como os homens. A inten\u00e7\u00e3o de Esopo, em suas f\u00e1bulas, era mostrar como os seres humanos podiam agir, para bem ou para mal. Assim como Homero, as f\u00e1bulas de Esopo faziam parte da tradi\u00e7\u00e3o oral dos gregos, por isso n\u00e3o foram escritas pelo seu suposto autor. Mais de duzentos anos depois da suposta morte de Esopo \u00e9 que as f\u00e1bulas foram reunidas e escritas.
(Adaptado da wikipedia por Vicente)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/fabulas3_esopo_1107_librivox/fabulasvol3_01_esopo_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":5270,"book_guid":"301a76ae6183fc1c612b195d5da7ddb6","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0159,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"classics (antiquity)|short stories","language_names":"Portuguese"},{"id":62535,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"The Dunwich Horror","book_author":"Lovecraft, H. P.","book_description":"In a rundown farmhouse near isolated, rural Dunwich, a bizarre family conjures and nurtures an evil entity from another realm, with the purpose of destroying the world and delivering it to ancient gods to rule, and only an aged university librarian can stop them. The Dunwich Horror was first published in 1929 in Weird Tales. (Summary by Mark Nelson)
\"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow\" is a short story by Washington Irving contained in his collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., written while he was living in Birmingham, England, and first published in 1820. It was based on a German folktale set in the Dutch culture of Post-Revolutionary War in New York State. With Irving's companion piece \"Rip Van Winkle\", it is among the earliest examples of American fiction still read today. (Summary by Wikipedia)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/sleepyhollow_1206_librivox/legendofsleepyhollow_01_irving_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/10420202-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":6762,"book_guid":"7b2fba0ee5a3c52f89e2621490b0aa55","book_rating":5,"book_votes":4,"score":0.0135,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"horror & supernatural fiction|horror","language_names":"English"},{"id":58214,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Quiet Talks about Jesus","book_author":"Gordon, S. D.","book_description":"So far as I can find out, I have no theory about Jesus to make these talks fit into. I have tried to find out for myself what the old Book of God tells about Him. And here I am trying to tell to others, as simply as I can, what I found. It was by the tedious, twisting path of doubt that I climbed the hill of truth up to some of its summits of certainty. I am free to confess that I am ignorant of the subject treated here save for the statements of that Book, and for the assent within my own spirit to these statements, which has greatly deepened the impression they made, and make. There is no question raised here about that Book itself, but simply a taking and grouping up together of what it says. ( Summary by Introductory Section )","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/quiet_talks_jesus_1203_librivox/quiettalksaboutjesus_01_gordon_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12024183-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":5327,"book_guid":"d725c0c26d81e4cb8998229f617e3220","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0133,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"philosophy|psychology|religion","language_names":"English"},{"id":60097,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Pony Rider Boys in New Mexico","book_author":"Patchin, Frank Gee","book_description":"Yee-Haw!! The Pony Rider Boys are on the move again! This time they are on their way to Bluewater, New Mexico, ready for whatever adventure they can find. But this time, trouble spots them on the train. Will the Pony Rider Boys be able to handle whatever comes their way? (Summary by Ann Boulais)This is the Arthurian legend of Tristan and Iseult. It is a tale of love, honour, intrigue, betrayal and jealousy, ending ultimately in tragedy. This story predates that of Lancelot and Guinevere, and is one of the most influential romances of the medieval period, inspiring many artists, from story-tellers to painters to composers.
(Summary by Joy Chan)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/middlemarch_version2_1310_librivox/middlemarch_version_2_01_eliot_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://ia800308.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/27/items/olcovers29/olcovers29-L.zip&file=295293-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":6584,"book_guid":"bd843982fd9cdb77f7179d9a93604d47","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0117,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"general fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":54552,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Oliver Twist","book_author":"Dickens, Charles","book_description":"
Oliver Twist is an 1838 novel by Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial.
Like most of Dickens' work, the book is used to call the public's attention to various contemporary social evils, including the workhouse, child labour and the recruitment of children as criminals. The novel is full of sarcasm and dark humour, even as it treats its serious subject, revealing the hypocrisies of the time.
It has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations, and the basis for a highly successful British musical, Oliver!. (Summary from wikipedia)
Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austen\u2019s novels, and its opening is one of the most famous lines in English literature - \u201cIt is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.\u201d\u009d Its manuscript was first written between 1796 and 1797, and was initially called First Impressions, but was never published under that title. Following revisions it was published on 28 January 1813 by the same Mr. Egerton of the Military Library, Whitehall, who had brought out Sense and Sensibility. Like both its predecessor and Northanger Abbey, it was written at Steventon Rectory.
(Summary from wikipedia)
Henry Gray's classic anatomy textbook was first published in 1858 and has been in continuous publication ever since, revised and expanded through many successive editions. This recording is of the public-domain 1918 US edition (some information may be outdated). The illustrations can be found in the online text at bartleby.com. For the Librivox recording, we have divided the book into five parts. Part 3 includes Angiology, Arteries, Veins, and the Lymphatic System. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/anatomy_humanbody_3_0908_librivox/anatomy3_01_gray_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":3117,"book_guid":"3397bf4564224eb2f393dda00b317633","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0088,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"medical","language_names":"English"},{"id":58137,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Meditations from the Pen of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart","book_author":"Stewart, Maria W.","book_description":"LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Two Musicians by Sarah Orne Jewett. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for January 16, 2011.
She published her first important story in the Atlantic Monthly at age 19, and her reputation grew throughout the 1870s and 1880s. Her literary importance arises from her careful, if subdued, vignettes of country life that reflect a contemporary interest in local color rather than plot. Jewett possessed a keen descriptive gift that William Dean Howells called \"an uncommon feeling for talk \u2014 I hear your people.\" (summary by Wikipedia)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/two_musicians_1101_librivox/twomusicians_jewett_alg_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":5119,"book_guid":"8dd16626c8f20d7048fcebb50c0e75f1","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0077,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"poetry|music|philosophy","language_names":"English"},{"id":55874,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Napoleon of Notting Hill","book_author":"Chesterton, G. K.","book_description":"
While the novel is humorous (one instance has the King sitting on top of an omnibus and speaking to it as to a horse: \"Forward, my beauty, my Arab,\" he said, patting the omnibus encouragingly, \"fleetest of all thy bounding tribe\"), it is also an adventure story: Chesterton is not afraid to let blood be drawn in his battles, fought with sword and halberd in the London streets, and Wayne thinks up a few ingenious strategies; and, finally, the novel is philosophical, considering the value of one man's actions and the virtue of respect for one's enemies. (Summary from Wikipedia)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/napoleon_notting_hill_0807_km_librivox1/nottinghill_00_gkchesterton_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/7658658-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":2281,"book_guid":"17853aee7f0a670f3942ae2c89d2d080","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0076,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"action & adventure fiction|fantastic fiction|humorous fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":54391,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure","book_author":"Cleland, John","book_description":"Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure (1749) was the first widely-read English novel in the genre \u201cErotica.\u201d It was written by John Cleland as he was serving hard time at a debtor\u2019s prison in London. Over the centuries, the novel has been repeatedly banned by authorities, assuring its preeminent role in the history of the ongoing struggle against censorship of free expression.
Until Fanny Hill, previous heroines had conducted their amorous liaisons \u201coff-stage.\u201d Any erotic misadventures were described euphemistically. As women who had gone astray, they always repented, which made even their most outrageous dalliances somehow suitable for a moralistic readership. The protagonist of Fanny Hill, however, never repented a single moment of her sexual exploits \u2026 quite the contrary! And with Fanny, the devil is in the details, realistically described. (Summary by Denny Mike)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/fanny_hill_librivox/fanny_hill_01_cleland_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":376,"book_guid":"83a58308897f5f55482229df5eb87360","book_rating":4,"book_votes":7,"score":0.0073,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"erotica|romance","language_names":"English"},{"id":54713,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"The Time Machine","book_author":"Wells, H. G.","book_description":"The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. This novel is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel using a vehicle that allows an operator to travel purposefully and selectively. (Summary from wikipedia.org)
Note: This audiobook contains readings of chapter 1 by two different readers. Variety is the spice of life.
Librivox\u2019s Short Mystery Story Collection 004: a collection of ten short works of mysterious fiction in the public domain read by a group of LibriVox members.
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/short_mystery_005_0906_librivox/shortmyst004_01_bluesequin_aw_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":2764,"book_guid":"395abe337e07523119d40b8407c4b74f","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0072,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"crime & mystery fiction|anthologies","language_names":"English"},{"id":58999,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Count of Monte Cristo (version 2)","book_author":"Dumas, Alexandre","book_description":"The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815\u20131838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is primarily concerned with themes of justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story. (Summary by Wikipedia)","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/countofmontecristo_1303_librivox/countofmontecristo_001_dumas_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/12038046-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":6263,"book_guid":"aaf49da157c51e91c24c1e03157657cd","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0072,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"action & adventure fiction|general fiction|historical fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":59585,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Mystery","book_author":"Dunbar, Paul Laurence","book_description":"LibriVox volunteers bring you 22 recordings of The Mystery by Paul Laurence Dunbar. This was the Weekly Poetry project for August 12, 2012,Henry Gray's classic anatomy textbook was first published in 1858 and has been in continuous publication ever since, revised and expanded through many successive editions. This recording is of the public-domain 1918 US edition (some information may be outdated). The illustrations can be found in the online text at bartleby.com. For the Librivox recording, we have divided the book into five parts. Part 1 includes the Embryology and Osteology sections. (summary by Laurie Anne Walden)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/anatomy_humanbody_1_0901_librivox/anatomy1_00_gray_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":2482,"book_guid":"67ea9496fe055f7bb798b698ae05678c","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0067,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"medical","language_names":"English"},{"id":61468,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Beauty and the Monster","book_author":"de Genlis, St\u00e9phanie-F\u00e9licit\u00e9","book_description":"A French theatrical adaptation of the famous fairy tale, The Beauty and the Monster is a drama of three characters - Beauty (Sabina), the Beast (Phanor) and Beauty's best friend, Phedima (the third wheel). - Summary by Mary Kay","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/emma_solo_librivox/emma_01_01_austen_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://www.digitalbook.io/covers/Emma.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":86,"book_guid":"704706d437845718efd56636a0ba4eca","book_rating":4,"book_votes":18,"score":0.0066,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"humorous fiction|romance|fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":63081,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Candide ou L'optimisme","book_author":"Voltaire","book_description":"
Candide vivait paisible et innocent chez le baron de Thunder-ten-tronckh, en Westphalie. Dans son ch\u00e2teau, le pr\u00e9cepteur Pangloss (\u00ab qui discourt de tout \u00bb en grec), repr\u00e9sentation de Gottfried Leibniz, professait un optimisme b\u00e9at. Candide partageait cette pl\u00e9nitude d\u2019autant plus qu\u2019il \u00e9tait amoureux de Cun\u00e9gonde, fille du baron. Un jour, ce m\u00eame baron surprend leurs amours et chasse Candide \u00e0 coups de pied \u00ab dans le derri\u00e8re \u00bb.
(R\u00e9sum\u00e9 par Wikip\u00e9dia)
This novella tells the tale of a young man, Candide (meaning \"ingenuous\"), who has been indoctrinated with Leibnizian optimism but becomes disillusioned after witnessing and experiencing many great hardships.
(Summary from Wikipedia)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/instructionslightkeepers_1404_librivox/instructionstolightkeepers_01_uslb_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":8324,"book_guid":"76c28074f4253ee29e080efb12844e66","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0063,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"reference","language_names":"English"},{"id":60317,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation","book_author":"Walker, James Barr","book_description":"The book is a series of independent demonstrations, the results of which accumulate to the final conclusion, that the Christian religion is necessarily the only religion possible to meet the spiritual wants of mankind. In arriving at this conclusion, the different arts and processes of revealed religion are examined, and their adaptedness to perform their several functions in elevating, purifying, and actuating the human soul to benevolent effort, is determined, and, finally, the practical operation of the system is shown, as a matter of undeniable experience, to produce the complete and necessary result required. . . . As four is contained in twelve three times, and as twelve is the only number in which four is three times contained; so the capacities and susceptibilities of the human soul being given, and the power and adaptations of revelation being ascertained, the result is obtained (may it not be said with mathematical certainty?) that Christianity, as taught by the interpretation and experience of evangelical Christians, is the true religion and the only religion possible for human nature. (Introduction from Preface to 2nd Edition.)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/philosophyplansalvation_1307_librivox/philosophyplansalvation_00_walker_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://ia801506.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/10/items/olcovers596/olcovers596-L.zip&file=5961760-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":7819,"book_guid":"b1465a67d7fb0f802c2cf00cfaf0004e","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0061,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"philosophy|christianity - other","language_names":"English"},{"id":56945,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Tom Sawyer Abroad by Huck Finn","book_author":"Twain, Mark","book_description":"Tom Sawyer Abroad is a novel by Mark Twain published in 1894. It features Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn in a parody of Jules Verne-esque adventure stories. In the story, Tom, Huck, and Jim set sail to Africa in a futuristic hot air balloon, where they survive encounters with lions, robbers, and fleas to see some of the world's greatest wonders, including the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, Detective, the story is told using the first-person narrative voice of Huck Finn. (Summary by Wikipedia)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/tom_sawyer_abroad_jg_librivox/tomabroad_01_twain_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":3681,"book_guid":"3f53e1f99f599882368c31d13d2a7573","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.006,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"action & adventure fiction|general fiction","language_names":"English"},{"id":54677,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Horror Story Collection 001","book_author":"Various","book_description":"An occasional collection of 10 horror stories by various readers. We aim to unsettle you a little, to cut through the pink cushion of illusion that shields you from the horrible realities of life. Here are the walking dead, the fetid pools of slime, the howls in the night that you thought you had confined to your more unpleasant dreams.","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/horror_001_librivox/01beast_with_five_fingers_harvey_mn_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":765,"book_guid":"39145763244c075a5773fb2879894ec0","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0058,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"horror & supernatural fiction|short stories","language_names":"English"},{"id":59284,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"He Fell in Love with His Wife","book_author":"Roe, Edward P.","book_description":"James desperately needs someone to help him keep his farm going, but has failure after colossal failure finding a good housekeeper. Alida marries a man only to find out he's already married. She's so undone when she finds out that she just wants to go somewhere where no one will judge her for her misfortune, where she can work and keep herself fed and clothed. James and Alida meet and arrange for a strictly business marriage, leaving loving and honoring out of the vows. The title of the book tells the rest of the story, but the way it gets there is worth the journey. (Introduction by TriciaG)
","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/hefellinlove_1310_librivox/hefellinlovewithhiswife_01_roe_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":6593,"book_guid":"e8f0a3874a1c1ba189555941cefd80c2","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0058,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"romance","language_names":"English"},{"id":66194,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Mark Twain; his life and work. A biographical sketch","book_author":"Clemens, William M.","book_description":"As far as anyone has been able to establish, Will Clemens was NOT related to Sam Clemens (Mark Twain), though they did become acquaintances. The 200-page biography Will Clemens wrote and published himself may have been the earliest full-length study of MT. It was published July 1,1892 as \"No. 1\" in a paperback series called \"The Pacific Library,\" price 25\u00a2, and did well enough to be republished in 1894 by a publisher in Chicago. Throughout the book Clemens relies mainly on other writers' previously published work. (summary by John Greenman)","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/mtsketch_1712_librivox/mtsketch_01_clemens_64kb.mp3","book_image":null,"book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":12535,"book_guid":"f81a1041844741409f54942513b675cb","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0058,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"biography & autobiography|modern (19th c)","language_names":"English"},{"id":66966,"book_type":0,"book_provider":1,"book_title":"Biographical Notice Of Nicolo Paganini With An Analysis Of His Compositions And A Sketch Of The History Of The Violin","book_author":"Fetis, Francois-Joseph","book_description":"Niccol\u00f2 (or Nicol\u00f2) Paganini (1782 \u2013 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. Fran\u00e7ois-Joseph F\u00e9tis (1784 \u2013 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century.- Summary by David Wales","book_sample":"https://archive.org/download/biographical_notice_of_nicolo_paganini_1811_librivox/biographicalnoticeofpaganini_01_fetis_64kb.mp3","book_image":"https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/id/11131648-L.jpg","book_url":null,"book_price":0,"book_code":13476,"book_guid":"7783cb3f121087e4410c3a50dcd0f677","book_rating":null,"book_votes":null,"score":0.0058,"author_names":null,"genre_names":"biography & autobiography|music|performing arts","language_names":"English"}]}